On NSA surveillance issues, Nugent unhappy with both sides

Published: Monday, June 17, 2013 at 5:04 p.m.

Last Modified: Monday, June 17, 2013 at 5:04 p.m.

As the Obama administration moves to prosecute the admitted leaker of information about a super-secret surveillance program conducted by the U.S. military, one local lawmaker is unhappy with both sides.

In a recent interview, U.S. Rep. Rich Nugent said President Barack Obama misled the public when he insisted that "every member of Congress" knew about the National Security Agency's court-approved snooping, which has been defended as an anti-terrorism initiative.

"I can tell you I sat through numerous briefings on the intel side, and that was never discussed. It never came up," said Nugent, a Brooksville Republican who serves on the House Armed Services Committee. Nugent's district encompasses the city of Ocala and most of Marion County.

"It's disturbing when the president says that, because it wasn't true," Nugent said.

Yet Nugent is also upset by the reaction to Edward Snowden, the computer technician who went public with details about the program.

Snowden has been cheered by civil libertarians, who thank him for publicizing massive government overreach into Americans' privacy, and jeered by staunch law-and-order types who see him as a criminal, a threat to national security, or both.

Put Nugent, who has a four-decade background in law enforcement, including spending 10 years as Hernando County sheriff prior to entering Congress in 2011, in the latter category.

"What he did was clearly a violation of the law," Nugent said. "You can't take classified information out."

That criticism of Obama's assertions about what lawmakers knew appears to be one thing Republicans and Democrats can agree on in recent days.

Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle have blasted the president's remarks, saying they were not aware of the spying program, code-named PRISM, or its wide-ranging nature.

At best, lawmakers have said, the existence and details of the program were limited to select leaders of the committees dealing with intelligence matters.

The NSA's efforts include obtaining an order from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to sweep up billions of phone records from millions of Verizon customers, as well as amassing Internet-usage data from the biggest online providers in the business.

The revelations about the PRISM program, first launched in 2007, were first reported in early June by the Washington Post and the Guardian, a British newspaper.

The Guardian followed a few days later with a report identifying Snowden, a computer technician with the influential defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton, as the source of details about the PRISM program.

"You kind of lose faith, especially with all the crazy stuff that's going on in the executive branch," Nugent said of Obama's comments.

He was referring to the recent controversies about the administration's handling of the slaying of four American diplomats in Libya last year, the IRS combing records of conservative-leaning groups and the Justice Department's acquisition of reporters' phone records.

Besides those flare-ups, and in light of the outing of the PRISM program, Nugent added the testimony James Clapper, the national director of intelligence.

Media reports in recent days have recalled Clapper's under-oath denial to the Senate Intelligence Committee last March that the government was gathering information on everyday Americans.

Clapper qualified his observation by telling the committee that the government did "not wittingly" collect data on millions of its own citizens.

Nugent took issue with that.

Clapper, he said, should have told lawmakers that he could not publicly answer that question and offered to conduct a classified briefing to answer their questions.

"We certainly should know" about PRISM, Nugent said of Congress. "We're expecting transparency."

Yet Nugent, recalling his own law enforcement experience, also questioned the rationale behind such a program, especially if the dragnet did not focus on certain suspects who could be arrested and prosecuted.

"I don't see the value of sweeping up everybody's information," he said. "You don't go out here and just go trolling."

Regarding Snowden, Nugent said some good might come out of his revelations.

Access to, and subsequent distribution of, such high-level information by a relatively "low-level" contractor exposes the risk of letting outsiders do much of the government's defense work as well as "some real shortfalls" in the NSA's security network, Nugent said.

That ought to be addressed, he added, and the issue will likely get more attention when the budget funding the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court comes up.

As for Snowden, Nugent said, "It clearly appears that he needs to go to court and let the chips fall where they may."

<p>As the Obama administration moves to prosecute the admitted leaker of information about a super-secret surveillance program conducted by the U.S. military, one local lawmaker is unhappy with both sides.</p><p>In a recent interview, U.S. Rep. Rich Nugent said President Barack Obama misled the public when he insisted that "every member of Congress" knew about the National Security Agency's court-approved snooping, which has been defended as an anti-terrorism initiative.</p><p>"I can tell you I sat through numerous briefings on the intel side, and that was never discussed. It never came up," said Nugent, a Brooksville Republican who serves on the House Armed Services Committee. Nugent's district encompasses the city of Ocala and most of Marion County.</p><p>"It's disturbing when the president says that, because it wasn't true," Nugent said.</p><p>Yet Nugent is also upset by the reaction to Edward Snowden, the computer technician who went public with details about the program.</p><p>Snowden has been cheered by civil libertarians, who thank him for publicizing massive government overreach into Americans' privacy, and jeered by staunch law-and-order types who see him as a criminal, a threat to national security, or both.</p><p>Put Nugent, who has a four-decade background in law enforcement, including spending 10 years as Hernando County sheriff prior to entering Congress in 2011, in the latter category.</p><p>"What he did was clearly a violation of the law," Nugent said. "You can't take classified information out."</p><p>That criticism of Obama's assertions about what lawmakers knew appears to be one thing Republicans and Democrats can agree on in recent days.</p><p>Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle have blasted the president's remarks, saying they were not aware of the spying program, code-named PRISM, or its wide-ranging nature.</p><p>At best, lawmakers have said, the existence and details of the program were limited to select leaders of the committees dealing with intelligence matters.</p><p>The NSA's efforts include obtaining an order from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to sweep up billions of phone records from millions of Verizon customers, as well as amassing Internet-usage data from the biggest online providers in the business.</p><p>The revelations about the PRISM program, first launched in 2007, were first reported in early June by the Washington Post and the Guardian, a British newspaper.</p><p>The Guardian followed a few days later with a report identifying Snowden, a computer technician with the influential defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton, as the source of details about the PRISM program.</p><p>"You kind of lose faith, especially with all the crazy stuff that's going on in the executive branch," Nugent said of Obama's comments.</p><p>He was referring to the recent controversies about the administration's handling of the slaying of four American diplomats in Libya last year, the IRS combing records of conservative-leaning groups and the Justice Department's acquisition of reporters' phone records.</p><p>Besides those flare-ups, and in light of the outing of the PRISM program, Nugent added the testimony James Clapper, the national director of intelligence.</p><p>Media reports in recent days have recalled Clapper's under-oath denial to the Senate Intelligence Committee last March that the government was gathering information on everyday Americans.</p><p>Clapper qualified his observation by telling the committee that the government did "not wittingly" collect data on millions of its own citizens.</p><p>Nugent took issue with that.</p><p>Clapper, he said, should have told lawmakers that he could not publicly answer that question and offered to conduct a classified briefing to answer their questions.</p><p>"We certainly should know" about PRISM, Nugent said of Congress. "We're expecting transparency."</p><p>"This whole system where everybody says 'It's OK, trust us' — I don't think so."</p><p>Yet Nugent, recalling his own law enforcement experience, also questioned the rationale behind such a program, especially if the dragnet did not focus on certain suspects who could be arrested and prosecuted.</p><p>"I don't see the value of sweeping up everybody's information," he said. "You don't go out here and just go trolling."</p><p>Regarding Snowden, Nugent said some good might come out of his revelations.</p><p>Access to, and subsequent distribution of, such high-level information by a relatively "low-level" contractor exposes the risk of letting outsiders do much of the government's defense work as well as "some real shortfalls" in the NSA's security network, Nugent said.</p><p>That ought to be addressed, he added, and the issue will likely get more attention when the budget funding the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court comes up.</p><p>As for Snowden, Nugent said, "It clearly appears that he needs to go to court and let the chips fall where they may."</p><p><i>Contact Bill Thompson at 867-4117 or bill.thompson@starbanner.com.</i></p>